just realized haven't been fotoblogging for ages...had been busy with so many things....

6 months in the new job - things are getting better..(this is actually my 3rd job) and the great thing is alhamdulillah, it had been a great and different experience everytime from working in an oil company to being involved in multiple projects (non-stop for close to 2 years) and meeting clients on a daily basis (and u've to switch your brains every other minute juggling those different projects) ..this time around, the task is really focused and technical (for me..i.e. programming, dynamic reservoir simulation, which i've never have any passion at all before..) but it's a good skillset and a skill gap that i want to close and pursue.. but yes, am getting the hang of it now and great that the first part of the project is very close to completion

i've also just entered a new decade..the big 3-0 recently and another year, the wiser you get, eh..?
also have been meeting up my fotopage mommies recently (after 2 years of meeting them online! ) thanks alin for inviting me to your dotter's akikah as well as AJ's birthday..nanti invite2ler lagi..hehe...

this summer, we went to the zoo again.. well, it can be considered as a yearly summer trip i suppose.. and the zoo is cleaner, more well preserved compared to last year.. arif is so obsessed with dinosaurs (yes, it's his new craze after ben10, thomas and bob the builder ) such that he is associating all the animals at the zoo with a diplodocus, a t-rex, a velociraptor, a triceratops or even a stegasaurus.. well, am sharing photos of the trip to the zoo this time around ..

arif is also bigger now..easier to take care of; yet at the same time has a mind of his own already..likes to argue and justify things, as if he knows everything.. well, guess its the nature of every 4 year old - very inquisitive and will question every single thing trying to gather information and develop their analytical skills..all part of human development..

anyway, overall things are good and getting better.. and hoping that everything will be smooth in the future..there're so many online profiles nowadays i.e fotopages, friendster, facebook..that it is impossible to keep each and any of them updated on a regular basis...especially since facebook is still 'new' you just get addicted to it! haha..


me and arif (my cheeky monkey ) with orang utan as the backdrop

let's go into the woods around kl area, y'all...before we become too ambitious jungle trekking at FRIM kepong, perhaps we should try bukit gasing in pj first yaa... well, this is our activity when the lil boy is not around (the grans decided to 'kidnap' him over the weekend..)

it's good that the residents of bukit gasing fought really hard to preserve this jungle (no condos, highways etc..)..it was still the same as 15-20 years ago when yours truly was a small girl living in that area (yups, used to be my playground..) and first went into the woods with the family - family expedition..just realized i'm so not fit after becoming a mommy+working - have to spend more time doing this kind of outdoor activities - i suppose! actually, can't wait for the lil boy to be back in a couple of hours..




bukit gasing, pj..

sunday breakfast at 'delicious' - nice food, nice ambience .. they've recently opened a branch in klcc area (the ricotta hotcakes with berry compote is soO yummy!!!! - must try..)


delicious at marc service residence..

arif had his first sports day last weekend..we were quite excited too since apparently he has been practising for the last 3 weeks..haha...it was also great to see so many 4-6 year old kids at a time! and looking at them focusing on the tasks that they've to do - under the scorching heat! *yes, us audience were sitting facing the morning sun...mak and i kept wondering why the kompleks sukan kg pandan folks did not consider this when building the platform/rostrum whatever you call it*...also get to know arif's best friend at school who happens to be a dina..apparently there's an aleeya julita too..gosh..boys nowadays grow up very fast, yaa?

guess, it's not too bad afterall sending him to his 3rd kindy with more emphasis on religious matters as well as other kindergarten subjects, more outings (visit to the dentist and zoo) and 'special' days - like sports day, teacher's day, bla bla) (have to thank my ex-boss who send his girls here before)..arif's earlier 'schools' - british montessori and taska pusaka were great for younger children to explore themselves/their surroundings thru learn and play..


kids at tadika qasrina..

in spirit of 'sports day', we drag arif for a jog along the taman tar hills..arif was so determined to see the monkeys that he ran non-stop and wore us out!


a sunday jog

time flies..my boy is four years old already..only did small family get together with some cake - 3 cakes in total, one at wan/aki's place in kuantan, one for his 'school' friends at tadika qasrina and another one at tok ayoh/nenek's place in pj..we felt bad cos we picked him up really late from school (was it 9:30pm?) on his birthday...nonetheless he was happy - with the cake and receiving presents - especially jam ben10 from mommy/ayah, jeremy airport set from nenek, cute t-shirt from cik ni and uncle kautsar, horseride with wan & spending time with aki, che chu's yummy muffins (hihi...bole pesan lagi...next time buat laa blueberry muffins lagi..hehe..) and thomas playshed from auntie uzen and uncle rizal all the way from london..thank you all hehe..next year, we'll do a big bday bash laa...this year - couldn't find the time to do so..

am glad at this age, his milestone includes able to recite iqra, all the ayat hafazan and doa during prayers as well as able to 'eja' both alphabets and numbers:)


happy boy...

quick weekend jalan2 to penang for sis-in-law's majlis bertandang..last trip to penang was before arif was around - more highways and buildings on the island after 5 years..haha...of courselahh.. also, managed to checkout the latest hotel..heheh..one thing definitely cannot be missed is the local food !! laksa penang, nasi kandar kari ikan and roti canai pisang aiskrim!!! yummy!


penang - a wedding and gurney drive...

first trip to dubai - 10 years ago only had a transit at the 'old airport'...hehehe..not as modern as nowlahh..! the city is modern and full of construction - with the tallest building in the world still in progress.. anyway, had great fun there - work was cool, people were fun and managed to squeeze in between courses to try out the desert safari, dinner at burj al arab hotel and quick shopping at the mall of emirates..! next time have to try other stuff like - going to gold/spice souks, hop-on hop-off bus around the city or something..


desert safari and fine dining at the 7-star hotel..so gawdy and full of gold!, but no taste! hehe..and have to make prior reservation..


wish had more time at the mall of emirates - they've harvey nichols there and ski dubai!! and this course was fun with fun and cool ppl!!

this was back in late jan/early feb - spend quality time with arif at the toys store, petrosains and avillion port dickson before i become bz bz again..after visiting petrosains - finally arif and ayah understood mommy's work (heheh..arif was extremely excited with the helicopter simulation ride and the dinosaur! ) and we had a great rest by the beach...


crazy with bob the builder & thomas train @ toys store and introduction to oil & gas at petrosains, klcc;-)


good rest by the beach - avillion port dickson

neni wedded her beloved beau on the second day of cny = mak/ayah's 30th anniversary = our majlis bertandang 5yrs ago. she looked pretty as ever and it was a great reunion for the families..
the groom has a lovely voice..and their wedding song was ~ highly admirable! welcome to the club guys..




neni and kautsar's wedding reception - kuantan

before we left for jakarta - we stopped by ITB, one of the great unis in indonesia..(hopefully lil sis and cuz will study hard and dream to go to good unis and become a better person )

the drive to jakarta took us about 3 hours and our first stop was taman mini indonesia indah to have a glimpse of the multi-cultured nation. the park has been transformed into a miniature indonesian archipelago - and you'd feel like you've toured the 30 odd provinces sampling 200+ cultures/languages since physically visiting the country can be challenging, logistically! and, our tour guide pak ibnu himself was like a walking encyclopaedia!

the trip followed by shopping again (goodness! guess malaysians will never miss itc cempaka mas and mangga dua laa..and tanah abang which we didn't manage to go this time around), now the hunt was more on local goods, i.e. kebayas, and ole2 for relatives back home..also managed to visit an old friend in the city. the city tour was i guess very basic touristy stuff like visiting the national monument and getting a good view of the different parts of the city..and most importantly look at the lifestyle of the folks there and experiencing the heavy traffic in the city - definitely! ok, next visit will go to the more modern areas of jakarta-lah..!



tmii




jakarta city